Sliding-door construction.



J. R. HUSSEY. SLIDING DOOB CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED D30. 30. 1909. 1,006,946. Patented 001;. 24, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES:

JIVVENTOR. Wm! M John B H A TTORNEY.

J. R. HUSSEY.

SLIDING DOOR UONSTRUGTION. APPLIOATIUN IILED D110. 30, 1909 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

55 Fig-8 INVENTOR. John B Howe] ATTORNEY.

JOHN R. HUSSEY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SLIDING-DOOR CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

Application filed December 30, 1909. Serial No. 535,597.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUIIN R. HUssnY, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Sliding-Door Construction; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to improve sliding door constructions of the same charactor as that shown in Letters Patent of the United States granted to me Jan. 12, 1909, No. 909,602. This invention tends greatly toward simplicity of construction, and to obtain necessary additional features not included in said patent, and is particularly adapted for flush doors.

One feature of the invention consists in the means for guiding the upper end of the door in its opening and closing movements, and holding it when closed, particularly in combination with means overhanging the upper end of the door when open for limiting its outward movement, and holding it in position when opposite the door opening, so that when lowered it will close and when open it will slide past the opening, and in combination with means for hfting the door upwardly from its seat. To that end there are stationary guiding members secured to the structure at the upper end of the door opening, and inclined downwardly and inwardly, and corresponding guiding members secured on the upper end of the door adapted to interengage the stationary uiding member slidab y, the adjacent en s of said guides projecting so that those on the door will overhang those on the structure when the door is open and in position to close, whereby when the door lowers the upper end will automatically seat itself.

These and other features will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railway car or other structure to which the door is applied, one end of the structure being broken away. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fi 8, cutting the stationary member for gui ing the upper end of the door in its inward and outward movement. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guidin member on the door. Fig. 5 is a perspectlve view of the guiding member on the structure. Fig. 6 is an elevat-ion of a portion of what appears in Fig. 1 on a larger scale and centrally broken away. Fig. 7 is a verticals-(action on the line 77 of Fig. 6 showing the door seated. Fig. 8 is the same showing the door open.

In the drawings 10 represents the side of a freight car which has a door opening 11, see Fig. 8, adapted to be closed by the'door 12. The door is adapted to fit flush when closed.

In opening the door it is necessary to elevate it and to hold it elevated, while open or receiving a laterally sliding movement. To that end there is a horizontal track rail 15 secured to the structure below the door opening and extending outwardly. It is preferably a T-rail. At each end it has a stop 16. Upon this track a pair of door supports 17 are mounted so as to be slidable longitudinally of the track. They are standards projectlng upwardly against the outside of the door, and their upper ends lie normally in vertical recesses 18 in the door made preferably by the channel frame 19, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper ends of the supporting standards 17 have laterally extending guiding lugs 20 that project behind the forward guide portions 21 of the frame 19, so as to prevent the outward escape of the upper parts of the standards 17 and cause the same to be vertically guidable in the frame 19. The upper ends of the standards 17 are turned outwardly and form cars 22 containing ring bearings 122 through which a shaft 23 extends, see Fig. 2, and on said shaft there are toothed pinions 24 with ring bearings,

shown here as mutilated pinions. The shaft.

23 has a bracket 25 secured to it midway of the door, as shown in Fig. 1, in which a handle 26 is pivoted, whereby the shaft 23 may be partially turned. The pinions 24 engage stationary racks or teeth 28 on the rear walls of the frame 19'. The series of teeth 28 increase in length from top to bottom so the pinions will fully engage them as the door is being elevated and the standards move from the inclined to the vertical position, as during such movement the axes of the pinions move outwardly somewhat. Near the lower end of each standard 17 there is a rigid projection 30, to which a guiding arm 31 is pivoted, and the inner end of said guiding arm is pivoted to the frame in the door at 32 in a recess 33 in said frame that extends entirely through the door at that point, although it is not necessary that it should extend through the door.

The parts are arranged so that when the door is closed, the stai'idards 17 will be inclined, as shown in Fig. 7, and the guiding arms 31 extend in a direction at a rightangle from the standards 17. lVhcn the lever 26 is operated and turned from a, vertical to a horizontal position or down wardly, the pinions 24 will be turned from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8, and since said pinions are mounted on supports that are carried by the track 15, and, therefore, not vertically movable, such operation will elevate the door from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8. Then the guiding arms 31 will be almost vertical and the standards 17 will be vertical, substantially. As the door lowers, upon the reversal of the lever 26 or pinions 21, assisted by the gravity of the door, the guiding arms 31 will cause the lower end of the door to move inwardly to seat. As the door goes up said guiding arms pull the lower part of the door outwardly.

The upper part of the door is caused to open when it is elevated by reason of the following construction: There are stationary guide members 35, shown in Fig. 5, that are embedded in the structure 10 at the upper end of the door opening, as shown in Fig. 3, and held there by bolts 36. Each guide is inclined downwardly and inwardly from the outer part of the structure so as to have an opening 37 lengthwise thereof, which is partially closed by a pair of opposite flanges 38 spaced apart, as shown in Fig. 3. These flanges 38 project outwardly about a half inch beyond. the surface of the structure surrounding the door opening, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Upon the door there are also guiding members 40, as shown in Fig. 4, which are secured by bolts 41. Each member 40 is saddled upon the door and its upper surface is inclined similar to the stationary member 35 and has an upwardly extending central web 43 upon which there is secured a laterally extending head 44 wider than the space between the flanges 88, but narrower than the width of the space 37 in the stationary member 35, and also thin enough to fit and move in said space 37. The web 43 is narrower than the space between flanges 38, so that this web and its flange can move slidingly in the member 35 to allow for play of the door in the structure when seated. The inward end or edge of the head 44 overhangs the inner surface of the door about a half inch, or the like, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

There is an overhanging construction se' cured to the structure 10 above the door by the bolts 50, see Figs. 7 and 8, that performs three functions, one to shed rain or water from the door, another to guide the upper end of the door in its sliding movements, but the third and chief function is to limit the outer movement of the door so as to always hold the door, when it is in a closing position in front of the door opening, so the overhanging head 44 of the member 40 on the door will when lowered engage the outwardly projecting ends of the flanges 38 on the stationary member 35, and as the door is lowered by gravity or force, the upper end will be caused to slide downwardly and inwardly to its seat. Said overhanging structure consists of a horizontal strip 51 that abuts against the structure 10 and has a protecting strip or hinder board 52 above it beneath the roof 53, and a downwardly extending strip 54 is secured to the outer edge of the strip 51 by the bolts 50. These bolts also extend through washers 55, or the like, outside the strip 54. The downwardly extending strip 54 is placed near enough to the structure 10 so that the upper end of the door cannot be moved. outwardly so far but what the head 44 will overhang the flanges 38, but will pass freely as the door moves laterally. Hence, when the door is elevated, the guides 35 and 40 will cause the upper end of the door to move upwardly and outwardly, and when the door is lowered they will cause the upper end of the door to move downwardly and inwardly.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a structure having a door opening and a separate door, of means for vertically moving the door from and into its closed position, guiding members secured to the structure at the upper end of the door opening and inclined inwardly and downwardly with the outer end of the lower portion thereof projecting beyond the structure, guiding members secured on the upper part of the door adapted to be engaged and slide in the guidingmembers on the structure, said guiding members on the door having inward projections adapted to overhang the projections from the other guiding members when the door is opened, and means {or holding the upper part of the door, when opened, in an inward position so its guiding members will overhang the guiding members on the structure.

2. The combination with a structure having a door opening and a separate door, of means for vertically moving the door from and into its closed position, guiding members secured to the structure in the upper end of the door opening that are inclined inwardly and downwardly and have a longitudinal chamber therein partially closed by oppositely disposed flanges which project outwardly beyond the structure, and guiding members on the upper end of the door which are inclined similarly to the other guiding members and are each provided fixed my signature in the presence of the with a web and head that is adapted to inwitnesses herein named.

terenga e said other uidin member, said head pr ijecting inwagily so as t0 overhang JOHN HUSSEY 5 the ends of the flanges on said other guid- Witnesses:

ing member. G. H. BQINK,

In witness whereof, I have hereunto af- 0. M. MCLAUGIILIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for. five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

